POST FALLS - Community gardening is taking root in Post Falls with New Visions Alternative High School adding a new garden near the Post Falls Senior Center, and the Post Falls Rotarians building a new gardening building in the Post Falls Community Garden.

The Post Falls Community Garden, which is maintained by the City of Post Falls, is going into its third season, and the Rotary Club of Post Falls is helping expand the garden with a new facility to store equipment and teach gardening related classes, according to Rotarian Tom Lien.

Lien was out with a handful of other rotarians and parks and recreation workers to put the roof on the new shed on Saturday.

"Post Falls Rotary donated $10,000 to get this built," said Rotarian Kay Viebrock, manager of the Post Falls branch of Mountain West Bank. "And the labor is cheap. We've have about 12-14 Rotarians out here for the last three weekends to get this built."

She said they hope to have the facility finished in two or three more weekends.

She said the project has a lot of community support, including River City Paint, Badger Building Supply and Ace Hardware.

"Trading Company Foods has kept us fed as well," she added.

Meanwhile, about 200 yards to the east of the community garden, Mark Jones and his alternative high school students are building another community garden.

"We will have two locations now," Jones said. "We have been growing on a lot at the corner of Seltice Way and Greensferry for about five years now."

The New Visions gardening program now includes a greenhouse for growing starts, and the first garden, which produces food for the Meals on Wheels program and the Senior Center.

"Now we will have a garden that is more accessible to the senior community," Jones said. "We like this new location because it connects the kids to the community and the seniors can be more involved, actually spending time in the garden and mentoring the students."

The new garden will have 20 raised beds that will be planted with a wide variety of vegetables this year. Jones said the students are also learning from other groups that occasionally volunteer to help with larger projects.

"We've had the Kiwanis Club, US Bank, United Way and even the LDS Church group come out to work with us," Jones said. "We are using senior power, kid power and community power to get it all done."

That help is greatly appreciated when it comes to moving 32 yards of dirt and 20 yards of compost by hand, he added.

"These kids are learning how to build collaborations, and they are learning to take previously unused land and make it productive," Jones said. "And best of all, they are learning to care for others."

Jones said the students will be providing most of their produce to the senior center and the food bank, but they are also talking with the Post Falls Lions Club about participating in their farmers market this summer.